T-Wolves won’t fret over threat

All practices are at the Neta & Eddie DeRose ThunderBowl and are free and open to the public:

Today: 6-8 p.m.

Saturday: 6-8 p.m.

Sunday: 3-5 p.m.

March 18: 6:30-8:30 a.m.

March 19: 6:30-8:30 a.m.

March 20: 6:30-8:30 a.m.

April 1: 6:30-8:30 a.m.

April 3: 6:30-8:30 a.m.

April 4: 5- p.m.

April 8: 6:30-8:30 a.m.

April 10: 6:30-8:30 a.m.

April 11: 5-7 p.m.

April 13: 5-7 p.m.

April 15: 6:30-8:30 a.m.

April 18: Spring game, 6 p.m.

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2014 Pack football

Sept. 4: West Texas A&M, 6 p.m.

Sept. 13: TBD

Sept. 20: at Western State, noon

Sept. 27: at Western N.M., 1:30 p.m.

Oct. 4: Adams State, 6 p.m.

Oct. 11: at Fort Lewis, noon

Oct. 18: Chadron State, 2 p.m.

Oct. 25: at Colorado Mines (at NAAC), noon

Nov. 1: Black Hills State, 2 p.m.

Nov. 8: at Colorado Mesa, 6 p.m.

Nov. 15: N.M. Highlands, 2 p.m.

Colorado State University-Pueblo announced its 2014 football schedule and the T-Wolves open with two of the toughest nonconference games possible.

They will play host to West Texas A&M, a Division II quarterfinalist and blossoming rival, on Sept. 4 (a Thursday night). This will be the fourth meeting between the two in four years.

They then will most likely play on the road against a strong Football Championship Subdivision school (think Northern Colorado, but way better). Details on that game are not official so CSU-Pueblo Athletic Director Joe Folda did not want the game released until it is official.

Since 2010, CSU-Pueblo has won 37 regular-season football games. That is the longest streak in Division II.

And the ThunderWolves are going to have to put in overtime in to keep it going.

“We know West Texas will bring a good football team to the ThunderBowl. They always do,” head coach John Wristen said. “Almost every team in our conference is getting better, too. The only reason we’re trying to keep that streak alive is because it means you win your next game. And that’s how we approach each week.

The Pack then opens Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play with a pair of road trips. It travels to Gunnison, then Silver City, N.M., on consecutive weekends.

The three consecutive road games is a first in the seven seasons since the school reinstated football in 2008.

“We’re focusing on getting back to the basics,” Wristen said. “Our alignments, our footwork, everything. When you have a veteran group returning like we do, they might think that this is going to be business as usual.

“We’re going to turn the screws up on these guys because we want to get better all the way around.”